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SIX GREENWAYS: AN OVERVIEW Six greenway projects are detailed includingt key resources, objectives, management system, and history and evolution of each. From National Park Service Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance
Program Each of the six greenways described here has a track record in terms of implementation, and there is some type of management organization. In addition, each one has unique characteristics, participants, and features that provide insights into how and why the management system evolved as it is currently. The projects described below will orient the reader to the region, baclground, key resources, objectives, management system, and history and evolution of each.
CHATTANOOGA AREA GREENWAY SYSTEM (Tennessee/Georgia) Background The City of Chattanooga, Tennessee is the hub of a proposed regional greenway system within the Southeast Tennessee River Valley. Chattanooga's greenway system includes greenways within the city's boundary and beyond its borders into Hamilton County. The greenway system even stretches into northern Georgia. The seven proposed neighborhood greenways that are part of the Chattanooga system generally run along the rivers, with the Tennessee River functioning as the main spine of the Riverpark. Efforts towards a regional system began in 1981 through the initiative of a citizen's group, the Moccasin Bend Task Force, which sought to revitalize downtown Chattanooga. A vision document (Vision 2000) was completed in 1987. The City of Chattanooga and its citizens planned and have partially implemented the successful Riverpark, a planned 20-mile circuit of park, trails and historic landmarks in a greenway along the Tennessee River, stretching from Chickamauga dam through downtown Chattanooga to Moccasin Bend. This project has been touted as a successful redevelopment effort for the city, connecting new housing, parks and businesses to anchor downtown revitalization. An important objective of the Riverpark is to bring people down to the river and thus encourage them to be better stewards of the land. Before 1982, most residents generally ignored the river except as a place for manufacturing and highway transportation. The 1990s saw the initiation of the larger 75+ miles of greenway system consisting of 7 separate greenway corridors that link to the Tennessee Riverpark. Individual advocacy groups are taking responsibility for the planning and design of each greenway, with Trust for Public Land (TPL) as coordinator. The National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (NPS RTCA), in cooperation with a number of local government agencies, completed a larger regional plan in 1995, Greenways for the Southeast Tennessee River Valley. The plan, little more than a brochure, includes recommendations to focus on the Tennessee River as the spine of the regional greenways system; to establish coordination among regional planning entities; to establish a regional greenways advocacy organization; and to establish a mechanism for creating and managing greenways across political boundaries. This plan was not fully adopted or implemented by local jurisdictions. The focus has been on the implementation of the Riverpark through the City of Chattanooga, a project that is much further along than the regional connecting greenways; however, grass roots citizen efforts are planning and building trails and parks that are part of the greenway system, with the help of TPL and NPS RTCA. Key Resources
Management System The City of Chattanooga and its citizens initiated the planning for the city's Riverpark, following an extensive visioning process. The city then spun off a private non-profit group, River Valley Partners (originally River City Company) to design and construct the Riverpark. The Trust for Public Land is coordinating the larger regional planning effort for the seven greenways that stretch beyond the city's borders. Most of the implementation has occurred in the downtown RiverPark, 10 miles on both sides of the river. This project has been a catalyst for some $33 million in private capital investments. DELAWARE & LEHIGH NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR AND STATE HERITAGE PARK (Pennsylvania) Background The 150-mile-long Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor follows the historic industrial transportation route of the "Anthracite Region" from the mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania along rail beds, rivers and canals, into the tidewater area of the Delaware River. The Delaware and Lehigh NHC is also designated a state Heritage Park. The Heritage Corridor spans five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania: Luzerne, Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, and Bucks, and includes 100 municipalities, including 14 major towns and cities: Wilkes-Barre, Ashley, White Haven, Eckley, Hazleton, Jim Thorpe, Palmerton, Walnutport, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Doylestown, New Hope and Bristol. The Delaware and Lehigh NHC is not a greenway per se; however, it does have linear features, the two canals and an historic railroad adjacent to riverside greenspace, features equivalent to a greenway that function as the spine of the corridor. The designation of Heritage Corridor creates a broader definition of a greenway that encompasses not only the historic canals and railroad but also related cultural landscapes such as the canal towns and farmlands. During the late 1970s, a predecessor to the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program and other external NPS programs (HCRS) recognized the national importance of the Delaware and Lehigh's historic canal resources. Working with the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission and the three counties of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton, the HCRS developed a vision document, the Lehigh Canal Trail Plan. This plan evaluated the potential of the Lehigh Canal for adaptive re-use as trail/waterway and addressed improvements in towns adjacent to the canal. During the same period, the early 1980s, Friends of Delaware Canal, a private non-profit, and Delaware Canal State Park developed a master plan for Delaware Canal, and recommended that canal communities of both the Delaware and Lehigh should work together to create a National Heritage Corridor. Largely as a result of these efforts, the Delaware and Lehigh was authorized in as a National Heritage Corridor in 1988 because of its rich historical, cultural, environmental, recreational and visual significance from 400 years of growth in America. In 1989, Pennsylvania recognized the area as a State Heritage Park. The driving force in the creation of the National Heritage Corridor was initially the preservation of the historic transportation systems and their focus as the organizing elements for interpretive and educational programs. Establishing interpretive facilities and an educational framework to present the corridor's historic, cultural and natural themes is an objective that has not changed. Objectives more clearly defined during the management planning process include: promoting a dynamic balance between conservation of key resources and revitalization of the regional economy, by promoting conservation and encouraging heritage tourism development; assisting cooperative efforts in the areas of environment, education, recreational development, natural resource conservation, tourism marketing, economic development, cultural conservation and historic preservation; and ensuring that agencies and organizations become self-sustaining to better advance interpretive, developmental and stewardship goals. A Management Action Plan for the entire Heritage Corridor was completed in 1993, although the regional coordinating and managing entity, the Delaware and Lehigh NHC Commission, had been established with the authorizing legislation in 1989. The Commission is in the process of developing a 10-year review of implementation status describing what has been accomplished and what remains to be done. Many projects in the plan are complete, including an Interpretive and Educational Plan (IEP) for historic and cultural sites and communities of the corridor that lists stories and sites that tell corridor-related stories; several regional driving tours; guidance for a corridor-wide signage system; and development of interactive computer systems for a virtual corridor tour. Several successful economic redevelopment projects have been accomplished, including the revitalization of downtown Easton through the Two Rivers Landing complex and location of the first Smithsonian affiliate, the National Museum of Industrial History, to the redeveloping 160-acre Bethlehem Steel property. Acquisition of all missing sections of the 160-mile Delaware and Lehigh Trail right-of-way, forming the corridor spine, are expected to be complete by the end of 2000. Key Resources
Management System One of the earliest designated National Heritage Corridors reviewed, its management system reflects the older and more top-heavy style of a federal commission. The NHC is managed by the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Commission, a 21-member regional management organization with representatives of the National Park Service, state and local government agencies, and local citizens appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The management system is spelled out in the authorizing legislation for the NHC. The Commission represents and coordinates public and private interests in the corridor. HUDSON RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA & AMERICAN HERITAGE RIVER (New York) Background Authorized by the New York State legislature in 1991, the Hudson River Greenway National Heritage Corridor is a program of voluntary regional cooperation supporting local and regional planning efforts to address cultural and natural resource protection; economic development, including tourism, agriculture, and redevelopment of urban areas and commercial waterfronts; public river access; and heritage and environmental education. The largest of the six projects in geographic area, the NHC represents some 3 million acres and all or part of 13 counties: all of Albany, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Ulster, Westchester, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene and Dutchess, and 242 local government units in eastern New York State. The Hudson River Greenway stretches 150 miles from Troy to Yonkers. Key resources that are being protected and managed include the scenic Hudson River Valley itself and numerous natural and cultural attractions. The river area includes four separate designations: along with the federal designation as National Heritage Corridor, the Hudson River is federally designated as an American Heritage River, a National Estuarine Reserve in its lower reaches, and a State Greenway from Battery Park to Troy. In addition, the Hudson River Valley is composed of a number of state heritage areas. In 1988, the New York State legislature created the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council to study and suggest methods for effective regional resource management. The study led to the passage in 1991 of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Act authorizing the planning of a 150-mile greenway from Battery Park to Troy. Legislation to establish the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Corridor was passed in 1996, and authorized $10 million in implementation funding over a 15-year period as well as $5 million in program support. Work on the heritage area management plan began in 1999 and was not complete as of the writing of this document. The designation as National Heritage Area recognizes the national importance of the valley's history and resources, spanning four centuries. The resources highlight themes of early settlement and migration, transportation and commerce, the Revolutionary War, the aesthetic value of the landscape, and the contributions of landscape architects such as Andrew Jackson Downing and Alexander Jackson Davis, painters of the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Frederick Church, Dutch and Huguenot settlements, and other individuals, communities and institutions. As of March, 1998 more than 276 miles of trail had been designated for hiking and bicycling. The Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council has a small grants program to assist communities in completing trail pre-development work, such as surveys and mapping for inclusion in grant applications for capital construction. The organization also provides technical assistance to local trail projects. In cooperation with the Hudson River Water Trail Association and Scenic Hudson, two private non-profits, the NHC will create the first low-impact campsite to be designated as part of the Greenway Water Trail. A regional Scenic Byways project is also under way, with assistance from the New York State Department of Transportation. One of the most innovative regional planning efforts is the Model Communities Program, supported by the Greenway Communities Council, which provides assistance in greenway planning to local governments, promotes intermunicipal cooperation, and awards Greenway Community Leadership Training Scholarships to municipal officials and leaders whose communities are participating in the greenway planning process. The Hudson has the distinction of being the only American Heritage River among the six projects, one of only ten rivers designated by the President in 1999 as part of a program to help communities restore and revitalize waters and waterfronts. The American Heritage Rivers Initiative integrates the economic, environmental, and historic preservation programs and services of federal agencies to benefit communities engaged in efforts to protect their rivers. A full time contact from a federal agency, called a "River Navigator," helps match community needs with available resources from existing programs. The Natural Resources Conservation Service has been chosen as the lead agency for the Hudson River. Key Resources
Management System The Hudson River Valley Greenway Act of 1991 authorized two existing organizations: the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council and the Heritage Task Force for the Hudson River Valley to oversee the planning for the Hudson River Greenway. At the same time, the state legislature created the Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley as the organization that could assist communities and organizations in implementing the ideas and projects arising out of the planning process. The authorizing legislation for the National Heritage Area subsequently named two of these existing organizations to manage the National Heritage Corridor: the Communities Council and the Greenway Conservancy, two non-profits each with different functions. A Heritage Steering Committee, with representatives from both managing organizations, coordinates the two. OHIO & ERIE CANAL NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR (Ohio) Background The Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor stretches 87 miles along the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio. Starting at the historic northern terminus of the canal at Lake Erie and the City of Cleveland, the corridor stretches south to the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (CVNRA); through the towns of Massilon, Canton, Barberton, and Akron; and ends at the historic village of Zoar in Tuscarawas County. The NHC includes 4 counties: Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, and Tuscawaras, and 38 municipalities. The Management Plan recommends extending the canal trail south to New Philadelphia making the total length 110 miles. The Ohio & Erie Canal was designated a National Heritage Corridor in 1996. The Ohio and Erie Canal's national significance is stated in PL 104-333, Title VIII, Sec. 802: "This area of northeast Ohio celebrates the canal that enabled shipping between Lake Erie and the Ohio River and vaulted Ohio into commercial prominence in the early 1830s. The canal and towpath trail pass through agricultural lands and rural village into industrial communities such as Akron, Canton, and Cleveland that trace their prosperity to the coming of the canal." The organizing unit for the NHC is the canal corridor and related historic resources. The Towpath Trail, the spine of the NHC, parallels the canal built in the early 1800s to connect Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The canal runs along Cuyahoga River and Tuscarawas River (south of Akron). The Ohio & Erie is also seeking designation at the state level through the recently developed state heritage parks program. Ohio & Erie would be one of the first heritage parks to obtain additional funding and technical assistance by this means. The idea for a National Heritage Corridor grew out of various initiatives and resource studies during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as grassroots efforts. During the mid-1980s the private non-profit Ohio Canal Corridor (originally North Cuyahoga Valley Corridor, Inc.) formed to develop a trail concept for the northern canal area as a hiking trail and educational resource. The goal was to take the canal trail into downtown Cleveland from CVNRA. Various preservation groups throughout the corridor were working to preserve canal locks and other historic features. The National Park Service began building a 20-mile towpath trail in CVNRA during the late 1980s, hoping that a trail connection would be developed to downtown Cleveland. The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission sponsored a feasibility study in the early 1990s to restore and develop the canal. This study outlined ways to link existing parks and exploit economic development opportunities along the canal. Finally, in 1991 Congress appropriated $175,000 for the National Park Service (NPS) to study the Ohio & Erie Canal Corridor for its national significance, and suitability and feasibility for inclusion as a potential NHC unit or NPS affiliated area. This special resource study, along with promotion by the Ohio Canal Corridor and support from U.S. Congressman Ralph Regula, secured the passage of legislation authorizing the Ohio & Erie Canal as a National Heritage Corridor. Connecting urban areas to the rural countryside, the Ohio & Erie Canal Heritage Corridor seeks to preserve the natural, historical and recreational assets of the corridor to stimulate economic development and improve the quality of life for the region. One of the primary objectives of NHC implementation includes retention of existing industries as well as developing heritage tourism. The goals of the Management Plan include:
Although the draft Management Plan was only completed in the spring of 2000, various implementation projects that form the nucleus of the NHC have been under way since the 1970s. The Towpath Trail, the spine of the Heritage Corridor, is halfway to completion: 40 of the 87 miles of proposed canal trail are developed, including 22 miles of trail through Cuyahoga Valley NRA. Only two to three miles of trail right-of-way remain to be acquired from a number of small private property owners. All four counties have plans for their section of trail. Major success stories include redevelopment of the industrial "Flats" around Cleveland as mixed use loft residences, light industry, and entertainment/retail; the development of Cleveland Metroparks' Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation, the first reservation in 38 years, and one that included the donation of more than 330 acres from industries such as Alcoa, American Steel & Wire and the Northeast Regional Sewage Plant; and reclamation of the PPG industry lime lakes (2,000 acres), settling basins with highly alkaline soils, along with the establishment of a trail route through this area. Much of the focus of implementation is planning for transportation corridors, including the state scenic byway "Canalway Ohio," using existing roadways that parallel the canal from Cleveland to Dover, Ohio; the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, envisioned as a multi-modal regional link among CVNRA, Tower City, Cleveland metro system trolley and train service, Akron Regional Transit System, and other transportation hubs; and individual bike commuting routes from major cities with links to the Towpath Trail. Key Resources
Management System The management entity for the NHC, authorized by the legislation, is the non-profit Ohio & Erie Canal Association (OECA), a hybrid of the two non-profits Ohio and Erie Canal Corridor Coalition (OECCC) and Ohio Canal Corridor (OCC). The latter two groups assist in implementation of the Management Plan and their responsibilities are generally divided by region. The OCC generally manages the northern part of the NHC around Cleveland, while the OECCC manages the southern portion of the NHC. These two entities share functions and membership. ROCKAWAY RIVER GREENWAYS (New Jersey) Background The Rockaway River, about 40 miles in length, is located in Morris (95% of watershed) and Sussex counties in northwestern New Jersey, the Skylands region, and flows through 13 communities before emptying into the Passaic River. Along with Chattanooga greenways, this is the smallest project evaluated in terms of geographic area. It is organized around a watershed: the Rockaway River watershed rather than cultural features. Nonetheless, cultural resources remain important components addressed in the watershed planning effort. Remnants of the former 102-mile Morris Canal exist, a prominent historic feature paralleling the lower half of the Rockaway River. The canal crossed New Jersey, carried iron ore to the coal fields and hauled anthracite coal to Philadelphia and New York. Its inclined plane is a structural feature that assisted boats in traveling overland for short distances. The canal was considered the most impressive global advance in waterway transportation in its day. 5,000 acres of public parkland border the Rockaway River, and water quality in the Rockaway is very good, sufficient for coldwater trout habitat and to serve as a reservoir for Jersey City. However, there is significant development pressure on private lands. Development threatened critical natural treasures such as 840 acres on Mase Mountain adjacent to the Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area, and the 6,500-acre Picatinny Arsenal, the largest federally owned parcel of land in the New Jersey Highlands. These threats were aggravated by a destructive flood in 1996. Friends of the Rockaway River (FoRR) was formed in 1990 and focused during their first few years on river cleanup, signage and stewardship, building goodwill and constituencies in watershed communities. During the mid-1990s the group achieved 501(c)(3) status to undertake a three-year, watershed-wide planning process at the community level. The group hired a landscape architect specializing in river corridor planning and design in 1995 to manage the watershed visioning process, along with a representative from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The result was the 1998 "The Rockaway River and its Treasured Resources: Visions and Strategies for Their Recovery," which won the 1998 Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award from the American Planning Association New Jersey chapter, and the President's Award of Excellence in 1999 from the American Society of Landscape Architects. The plan contains 13 general and 29 site-specific recommendations for each river reach, including clean-up and redevelopment of blighted urban areas along the river, creation of additional recreation opportunities, increased river access, open space preservation, and protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife. Implementation of some of the plan's 29 recommendations by river reach is under way, including re-greening of riverside brownfields in Jefferson Township and completion of 1,600 feet of restored river corridor (400 feet were restored this year). In 1997, New Jersey's Green Acres program bought 2,447 acres of Jersey City watershed lands in Jefferson Township that will become part of the Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area, the state's newest hunting and wildlife preserve. The property protects four miles of the Rockaway River. Many other open space, land preservation, brownfields, and river restoration projects are under way. Development of riverside greenways for water quality protection and recreation is a goal of the plan, and efforts are under way to utilize abandoned rail corridors and other rights-of-way to create a public trail system. Efforts have been focused initially on the lower portion of the river from Boonton to the Passaic River. Meanwhile, the Rockaway River Watershed Cabinet, the intermunicipal managing entity, is developing a Sustainable Watershed Management Plan, along with consultant landscape architecture and planning firms. The plan addresses water quantity and quality, land development practices, stormwater management, flood prevention, and groundwater recharge. Key Resources
Management System The Visions planning process was managed by a project steering committee consisting of trustees and officers of FoRR, representatives of the the Upper Rockaway Watershed Association, and Trout Unlimited. A Watershed Cabinet was formed to implement the Visions plan. The Cabinet consists of a forum of representatives from each of the 13 municipalities linked through an intermunicipal agreement. The Cabinet's charge is to address watershed management issues, including flood prevention, recreation, water quality, historic preservation and open space protection. UPPER DELAWARE SCENIC & RECREATIONAL RIVER Background With the Rockaway River, the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is the only other project evaluated that is organized around natural rather than cultural features or political boundaries. The Upper Delaware includes 73.4 miles of free-flowing river and adjacent uplands. The Upper Delaware River winds through highlands from Hancock, New York to Mill Rift, Pennsylvania and Sparrowsburg, New York. It spans two counties in Pennsylvania and three in New York and divides Pennsylvania from New York. As with several other projects a canal, the Delaware and Hudson, represents a key cultural feature. The area is renowned for its natural scenery and variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, although there are nationally significant historic resources as well. The area is mainly rural, and the water quality is good. The Upper Delaware River was added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1978, through the National Parks and Recreation Act. The boundary set by the authorizing legislation is based on hydrology and topography, encompassing adjacent lands from which runoff drains directly into the river and tributaries upstream to the first prominent topographic feature such as a cliff or ridgeline. The Wild and Scenic Rivers system requires the maintenance of designated rivers as perpetually free-flowing, and the river is primarily managed to protect water quality and flow to support fisheries, and to support recreational activities. Because there are few public lands along the Upper Delaware, and many private property owners with small parcels, the National Park Service affiliated area is a partnership of private citizens, local and state governments and the NPS to preserve the river; its scenic, historic and recreational features; and the historic communities in the river valley. Threats to water quality from several proposed developments during the 1970s sparked citizen concern and interest in protecting the river. The Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP) was formed in 1981 by the 8 affected New York river towns and 7 Pennsylvania river townships, to conserve, protect, maintain and enhance the river corridor's unique resource values and social and economic vitality. This group was a driving force behind federal designation and development of the River Management Plan. The plan was completed in 1986 with the involvement of NPS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of New York, the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and local landowners, commercial and recreational interests, and local and national conservation groups. Fears of federal condemnation of land and control over land use prompted the revision of the first River Management Plan to allay these concerns, and ever since private property rights issues continue to surface. Restrictions on the use of eminent domain were written into the River Management Plan as a result. Key Resources
Management System Because of the federal designation as a Scenic and Recreational River, a River Management Plan was required. The 15 towns included in the boundaries of the Upper Delaware are responsible for implementing the River Management Plan. At least 11 towns are actively represented on the Upper Delaware Council, an inter-state agency comprised of public agencies and private interests that reviews local plans for conformance to the River Management Plan and makes recommendations to the National Park Service. The Secretary of the Interior, through the NPS, accepts and adopts recommendations that are consistent with the River Management Plan and guidelines. The NPS cooperates with New York and Pennsylvania to manage recreation on the river and river access points. stem. |
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